Pressure-operated regulating apparatus



UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

rnsn J. nmnnmxn AND aossrn N. nsnnsxrfor 'nn'rnorr, umnmsn, ASSIGNOBS 'ro KELVINATOR CORPORATION, OF WILMINGTON,

DELAWARE.

nmwsnn, a cosirona'rmn or Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 27, 1920.

Application filed January 14, 1918. Serial No. 211,762.

'1 u all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRED J. HEIDEMAN and Josnru N. HADJISKY, citizens of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful provement in Pressure-Operated Regulating Apparatus, of which the following is a ful clear, and exact description, reference, being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to devices wherein a change in fluid pressure serves automatically to operate a controlling device, and has especial reference to that class of devices called thermostats, wherein the change 0 pressure is produced by the eva oration or expansion of a contained flui although equally useful in cases wherein the pressure fluid is conveyed to the device from some outside source, as through a tube or pi e, and is produced mechanically instead of y thermal expansion. The particular device illustrated and described herein has been developed as a thermostat for refrigerating systems, especially those of a domestic type, and with the view to an electrical control, but is applicable to many other uses where thermostatic or other pressure-operated appliances are employed and is not restricted to an electrical control, since neumatic or mechanical connection may employed without change in the design, construction or mode of operation of any part of the device.

The objects of the invention are the provi-' sion of a pressure-operated device of higher sensitiveness and larger range of throw than previous devices of this nature; the provision of a pressure-operated device of simple and compact construction wherein a, given change of ressure, whether caused bytemperature c ange or otherwise, will be converted into a large mechanical movement at a high degree of force whereby positiveness and certainty of o oration is secured and whereby the regulating function desired can and other sensitive and expensive devices; the provision of such a.

device which is adjustable throughout aof pressure or temperature and wide ran e one whic will be simple to construct and adj ust and not liable to get out of order; the

provision of a thermostatic or pressure device of great sensitiveness wherein the opcovered by oration produces a largp de es of force and which is not harmed y su jection to very excessive pressures or temperatures; while further ob ects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings accompanyin 'ing'a part of this application we one embodiment of our invention, although it will be understood that this drawing is illustrative only and is not to be taken in a limiting sense; we have also shown our improved device 0 crating as a. thermostat in combination wit a refrigeratingdevice and as located in a peculiar ace in said device, but do not restrict ourse ves to the use with refrigerating devices in any way, and do not in this application lay claim to the peculiar location and arrangement of the same where employed in refrigerating apparatus, which relation'and association is com rised in and our cogendin app cation filed erial 0. 211,7 51.

and form- January 14, 1918,

In these side elevation of our improved device operating as a thermostat, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the same, certain parts being shown in section in each viewj Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken upon the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one of the many thermostatic uses of our device; and Fig. 6 illustrates the use of the'said device for 0 rating a fluid valve in accordance with ,uid pressure in an external pipe.

Describing the arts by reference charac ters, 1 represents t e corrugated sheet metal side wall of an extensible expansion vessel, said wall bein made of thin flexible material as well on erstood in the art so as to operate like a kind of bellows. One end of said vessel preferably consists of a plate 2 formed with a depression 3 whose bottom is thickened as shown at 4 to provide for the filling a rture 5 and the needle valve 6 whereby it may be closed. The other end of the vessel is covered by the-sheet metal plate 7 which extends beyond the wall 1 at each end as shown at 8, 8. The endsl'of the memher 1 are secured to the respective closures by spinning, crimpi soldering, welding, or in any other suitab e manner, The overhanging portions of the plate 7 are formed ave shown.

drawings Figure 1 represents a ex ansion vessel, for the reception of long:- tu inall movable members such as t e "threaded bolts 11, 11 whose lower ends are attached to the upturned cars 12, 12of a cap or stirrup 13 which embraces the bottom of the vessel and normally covers and protects the filling valve.

Located upon t e upper side of the plate 7 are a pair of hollow shells 15, 15 each of which is preferably concentric with one of the bolts 11, the same being held 1n place in any suitable manner as by means of bosses 16 struck up from the late 7. Upon the upper end of the shells is located a second p ate 17 parallel to the plate 7 and likewise havin apertures 18 concentric with the bolts 11. tatably mounted in each of these apertures is a collar 19 whose bod portion projects into the shell 15 and whose flange 20 overlies the top of the plate 17, said flange being conveniently notched as shown at 21 to facilitate its rotation. Rigidl secured to the depending portion of this co Iar is a spiral spring 22 whose opposite end is rigidl attached to a nut 23 threaded upon the It 11. It will therefore be apparent that the tension'of this's ring will tend to hold the plate 17 rigid in place ,upon the shells 15, 15 and will old the stirrup 13 firmly upon the end of the expansion vessel, and that this tension can readily be adjusted by rotating the member 19 which rotation will be transmitted to the nut 23 through the medium of the s rin 22. Rig-idly secured to the upper end 0 eac of with apertures 10 one at each side of the the bolts 11, His a nut 25 formed with a circumferential groove 26 and with an elongated shank 27 fitting slidably inside the member 19 which is suitably apertured for the purpose. This nut can be positioned and secured in any desired manner, the expedient here shown consisting of threading the,same upon a reduced extension of the bolt 11 and securing it there by means of a lock nut 28. The sides ofthe shank 27 may also be chamfered away if desired as shown in Fig. 3 the better to prevent -stickl tigidly secured to the top of the plate 17 between the members 19, 19 are a pair of brackets 30, 30, in each of which is pivoted a lever 31 having at its one end a rounded portion 32 engaged in the groove 26 of the nut 25 nearest thereto. The opposite ends of these levers extend to a point adjacent to each other as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and are slmilarly provided with 'rounded portions 33. e throw of these levers will depend upon the location of their pivot points, such location being shown here as atonesixth of the distance from the ends viding an increase of movement in the ratio of five to one.

The ends 33 of these levers are reccl 32, thus proin the groove 35 of a nut 36 carried by a rod 37 depending through a central aperture in the p ate 17, and to this rod is attached the controlling device which the thermostat is intended to operate. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, this controlling device consists of a standard electric switch of the type wherein a pair of push buttons roject through opposite sides of a small cylindrical casing, one of said buttons being depressed to make electric contact through the switch and the other being depressed toopen the contact. In the present embodiment the casing of this switch is indiated at '40 and the same is located in an insulating housing here consisting of a split fiber blockAl, one of the said buttons having been removed and substituted by the rod 37 and the other button, 42, being loosely received in a guideway 43. This fiber block can be secured in place in any desired manner, the preferred arrangement being that of groovin its ends as shown at 44 in Fig. 3 so that 51s same will straddle the shells 15, 15. With this arrangement it will be seen that a downward movement of the bolts 11, 11, caused by pressure inside the vessel 1, will elevate the levers 31,31 and operate the switch in one direction, with consequent extension of the springs 22; and that upon a decrease in pressure inside the chamber 1 the springs 22 will operate to depress the levers 31 and operate the switch in the reverse direction. Whether the first operation serves to make or break the circuit through the switch depends upon the construction of the switch and the. direction of its connection to the mechanism, and this will vary with circumstances; for use as a thermostat in refrigerating apparatus the switch is ordinarily ap lied in such a way that expension of the c amber 1 will cause a closing of the circuit and contraction of that cham her the opening of the circuit.-

One end of the switch casing is preferabl rovided with a pull-plug 48 from which eads the flexible cord 49. a

The operating mechanism is preferably inclosed in a housing 50 of appropriate shape engaging the edge of the plate 7 which may conveniently be flanged over as shown at 51 to afford added stiffness and rovide a seat for the housing. The rear wa ing is formed with an aperture 52 for the plug 48. This arrangement conveniently protects the opera-tin parts against moisture, frost. dust and t e like.

Ordinarily, for use as a thermostat, the container 1 is char d with a liquid which is particularly sensitive at the tem ratures at which the thermostat is intend to operate; this condition being most easily met by employing a liquid whose boiling point lies just below the temperature range required;

thus for use with an ammonia refrigeration l of the houssystem liquefied ammonia might be used in case the thermostat were intended to operate at or about the lowest limit of the system; and for temperatures ranging from about +15 F. to about +50 F. li uefied sulfur dioxid is highly convenient an satisfactory, although other volatile substances can be used. Owing to the fact that all of these substances boil at such low temperature and consequently reduce a high pressure at ordinary atmosp ieric temperatures, it 15 necessary to provide a positive stop for the thermostat in order to prevent injury to the same during shipment, liandl'ng, or during. a temporary discontinuance of t 1c refri ration. This is preferabl accomplish by providing each of the ho ts 11 with a stop nut Fifi-immediately above the late 7, which stop nut may, if desired, split and clamped as shown at 56 in Fig. 4 so as to revent accidental displacement. This nut 1s adjusted so as to permit only the degree of movement of the levers 31 necessary to the controlling operation.

The emplo meat of a plurality of spaced tension mem ers insures that the operation of the controlling member gswitch or valve) shall always be uniform an shall takeplace without canting, binding, or sticking. Also the use of a stop on each tension member, taken in conjunction with the use of a number of members (since-we do not limit our-' selves to two rods 11-11) produces a device that cannot be injured by ressures even far in excess of thosewhichwill operate it. The bellows-metal construction shown, while extremely elastic longitudinally, is extremely stron radially, and the device thus produce is safe under all conditions of operation. For example, this device whenemployed as a refrigerator thermostat is ordinarily filled with a volatile liquid as sulfur dioxid which produces a pressure of several pounds per square inch even at 32 F. and more than 100 lbs. per sq. in. at 120 F. which temperature is sometimes reached in transporation or in a hot climate when refri ration is temporarily discontinued.

l n asmuch as the ressure generated inside the vessel 1, when the same is used as a thermostat, will vary with the temperature to which the same is subjected, ad ustment of the device for tempgrature can be effected by rotating the mem rs 19, 19 which as heretofore explained serves to va the tension of the springs 22 which withstand that pressure. certain degree of adjustment can also be effected by turning the nut 36, but this is not so desirable since it serves to vary the angles of the lovers 31, 81 which ought to be kept as near erpendicular to the rod 37 as possible. T e same operation also serves to adjust the device when used as a pressure control.

In Fig. 5 we have shown our improved the same to the expansion coil by way of the condenser 66 and expansion valve 67. In the case of the ordinary domestic system, our improved thermostat can be connected directly in series with the motor as shown so as to control the same without the interposition of relays transformers, or other devices and by suita ly desi ing the size of the expansion vessel an ty e of switch this method of control is feasi le for all capacities of apparatus u to that wherein the services of an atten ant are warranted.

The same construction can equally well be adapted for operation by pressure derived otherwise than by the evaporation of liquid contained inside the expansion vessel, as for example by the action of fluid under ressure conveyed to the expansion vessel y piping; and the operation of the thermostat can e caused to control a'valve equally well as an electric switch. In Fig. 6 we have shown our device arranged for pressure op eration, the expansion vessed 1 being connected with a source of fluid under pressuie by means of a pipe 70 in such wise that an increase in the pressure of the fluid will cause an expansion of the vessel and a conuent movement of the rod 37, which in this case is shown as connected to a valve 71 by means of a lost motion connection 72 in' such wise as to produce a quick and positive movement of the valve member as well understood in the art.

It will also be understood that avalve can be substituted for the electric switch in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and the thermostat operation caused to control the refrigerant flow directly, by

locatin said valve in series with the ex anyet rotected by the housing; the vessel is who ly exposed so that heating and cooling connected-to t e op ment is easily performed; no danger 0 explosion or over-strain is present, even under tly excessive pressures; and the operatmg force is transmitted from the vessel without any possibility of binding or stickfivhile we have described in detail the practical embodiment of ourinvention which at the present time appears the preferable one we do not limit ourselves to the details of construction or arrangementexcept as the same are specifically recited in the claims hereto annexed or rendered necessary by the prior state of the art.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination, with an extensible metallic vessel, of a supporting plate covering one end of said vessel, a controlling device carried by the side of said late opposite to said vessel, a longitudina y movable member traversin said plate and operativel site end of said vesse and movement mu ti lying means 0 rati vely connecting said member to sai device. a

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with an expansible vessel having extensible cylindrical walls, of a presented supporting plate to which said vessel is endwise, a pluralityof tension rods spaced about said vessel and attached to the distant end thereof, a controlling device carried by said plate upon the side 0 posite to said vessel, and means operative y connecting said rods to said device, said means including yielding elements whereby expansion of said vessel is opposed.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with an axially extensible cylindrical vessel having side walls of circumferentially corrugated sheet metal, of a sup ortin member attached to one end of em vesse, a controlling device carried by said supporting member on the side opposite said vessel, a plurality of tension members traversing said supporting member and having their op osite ends operatively connected to said evioe and to the far end of said vessel, respectively, and yielding means connected to said rodsand arranged to oppose the tension of said vessel.

4. A thermostat comprisin a housing, controlling mechanism in sai housing, an extensible metallic vessel'located outside of said housing, one end ofsaid vessel being presented to and fixed relatively to said ousing and the direction of expansion and contraction being normal to said housing, and operative connections between said contreggilng mechanism and the free end of said v 5. In a device of the character described, a su port, an axially extensible cylindrical vesse located with one of its ends presented to said support, said vessel having side walls of circumferentially corru 'ted sheet metal and said support having a ousing upon the side opposite said vessel, a controlling device in said housing, and operating members for said device traversing saidsupport and extending along said vessel and attached to the free end thereof.

6. In a device of'the character described,

a housing, a controlling device inside said housing an extensible cylindrical vessel outside sald housing and havin one of its ends presented to a wall thereo in immovable relation and op the wall of said housing and connected at one end with the free end of said vessel and at the other end to said controlling device. Y

7. In a device of the character described, a support, a' longitudinally expansible vessel connected to one side of said support with its axis normal thereto, a plurality of tension members vessel and spaced s metrically thereabout and traversing sai support, a single movable member carried by the opposite side of said support and operatively connected to said tension members, and a controlling device operatively connected to said movable member, and means for sitively limiting the outward movement 0 said tension mem .bers to the amount necessary to the operation of said controlling device.

8. In a device of the character described, a support, a longitudinally expansible vessel connected to one side of said an port with its axis normal thereto, a plurality of tension members connected to the free end of said vessel and spaced symmetrically thereabout, a single movable member carried by the opposite side of said support and operativ y connected to said tension members, spring means yieldingl y opposing the outward movement of said tension members, and a controlling device operatively connected to said movable member.

9. In a device of the'character described, a support, a longitudinally expansible vessel connected to oneside of said support with its axis normal thereto, a plurality of tension members connected to the free end of said vessel and spaced symmetrically thereabout and traversing said support, a single movable member carried by the opposite side of said support and operatively connectedto cqnnected to the free end-of said crating members traversing tension of said sp'ring means, and a controllin device operatively connected to said movab e member.

10. In a device of the character described, a support, a longitudinally expansible vessel connected to one side of said support with its axis normal thereto,aplurality of tension members connected to the free end of said vessel and spaced symmetrically thereabout and traversing said support, a spring connected to each of said tension members and yieldingly opposing its outward movement, means for varying the tension of each spring,

a single movable member carried by said support and operatively connected to each of said tension members, and a controlling device operatively connected to said movable member.

. In a device of the character described, a pair of spaced plates, a controlling device located between said plates and having a. reciprocable stem, a longitudinally expansible vessel connected to the outer side of one plate with its axis normal to both plates and parallel to said stem, a plurality of tension members attached to the free end of said vessel and spaced about said vessel, and traversing said plates, a spring connected to each tension member and to one of said plates arranged to oppose the outward movement of the members, means for varying the tension of the springs, and a plurality of levers pivoted to the plate which is farthest from said vessel, there being one lever for each tension member, one end of each lever being operatively connected to its respective tension member and the opposite ends of all the levers being operatively connected to said stem.

12. In a thermostat, a longitudinally expansible metal vessel having elastic walls and rigid ends, a controlling devic secured to one end' of said vessel, 9. filling opening formed in the opposite end of said vessel, means closing said filling opening, a cap coverin the r filling c osure, and a plurality of tension deee end of said vessel and the vices arranged around said vessel each having one end attached to said cap and. its opposite end operatively connected to said controllin device.

13. n a high-pressure thermostat, a longitudinally expansible metal vessel adapted to receive volatile liquid and having a solid end a movable member carried by said end, a. plurality of tension members operatively connected to said movable men'iber and spaced around the exterior of said vessel parallel to its axis of expansion, the outer ends of said tension members being attached to the free end of said vessel and each of said members having a positive stop adapted to cooperate with the solid end of said vessel to limit the expansion of said vessel to a predetermined amount.

14. In a. high-pressure thermostat, a cylindrical metal vessel having circumferentially corrugated walls designed to permit longitudinal expansion while preventing radial expansion, a rigid base for one end of said vessel, a plurality of tension members spaced about said vessel parallel to its axis, one end of each member being attached to the free end of said vessel, a stop carried by each member and cooperating with said base to limit the expansion of said vessel to a predetermined amount, and a controlling device adapted to be actuated by the expansion and contraction of said vessel.

15. The combination of a supporting member, a longitudinally expansible vessel held against one side thereof, an electric switch mounted on the opposite side thereof, and an operative connection having a part extending through said supporting member and connecting the far end of said vessel and the movable member of the switch, said connection including a motion multiplying means.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto afiix our signatures.

FRED J. HE IDEMAN. JOSEPH N. HADJISKY. 

